Automatic determination of elevator user&#39;s current location and next destination with mobile device technology

ABSTRACT

A method for automatically dispatching an elevator  110  based on a user&#39;s location is provided. The method includes querying a device  104  to determine a user&#39;s source floor and confirming the user&#39;s source floor. The method also includes querying the device to suggest the user&#39;s destination floor based on a history of destination floors traveled to by the user; and confirming the user&#39;s destination floor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and incorporates by referenceherein the disclosure of U.S. Ser. No. 62/007,109, filed 3 Jun. 2014.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

The presently disclosed embodiments generally relate to elevatorsystems, and more particularly, to a system for automaticallydetermining the source floor and destination floor of an elevator user.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

Currently, mobile devices allow users to enter source and destinationfloors when using an elevator. These devices require the elevator userto provide both the source floor and destination floor when requestingto use the elevator. Some products provide a favorites feature tominimize re-entering the same information. A need remains for a systemthat automatically determines the source floor and the destination floorof the elevator user.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

In at least one embodiment, a method for automatically dispatching anelevator based on a user's location is provided. The method includesquerying a device to determine a user's source floor and confirming theuser's source floor. The method also includes querying the device tosuggest the user's destination floor based on a history of destinationfloors traveled to by the user; and confirming the user's destinationfloor.

In at least one embodiment, a method for automatically dispatching anelevator based on a user's location is provided. The method includesquerying a user's mobile device for source floor data and destinationfloor data. The source floor of the user is determined based on thesource floor data. A user input is requested to confirm the sourcefloor. A destination floor of the user is suggested based on thedestination floor data. A user input is requested to confirm thedestination floor. The source floor data and the destination floor dataare updated based on a source floor and a destination floor selected bythe user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments and other features, advantages and disclosures containedherein, and the manner of attaining them, will become apparent and thepresent disclosure will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of various exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system used to select a source floor anda destination floor.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for automatically determining a source floorand a destination floor of an elevator user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of thepresent disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system 100 used to determine a sourcefloor and suggest a destination floor of an elevator 110. FIG. 2illustrates a method 200 for automatically determining a source floorand suggesting a destination floor using the system 100. The system 100includes a building device 102 and a mobile device 104 in communicationwith the building device 102. The building device 102 is incommunication with the elevator 110. At step 202, the mobile device 104activates a program for determining a source floor of the mobile deviceuser and suggesting a destination floor of the mobile device user.

At step 204, as the user holding the mobile device 104 approaches theelevator, the mobile device 104 and/or the building device 102 arequeried to determine the source floor of the user. For example, whenquerying the building device 102, wireless transmitter beacons 106electronically coupled to the building device 102 may detect the mobiledevice 104 through a communication signal between the mobile device 104and the beacon 106. In particular, if a beacon 106 located on thetwentieth floor communicates with the mobile device 104, the buildingdevice 102 determines that the user is located on the twentieth floor,and thus the twentieth floor is the source floor. The source floor isthen communicated from the building device 102 to the mobile device 104.Alternatively, the building device 102 may communicate with the mobiledevice 104 through a building network, a wireless network, and/orexternal sensors located throughout the building.

In at least one other embodiment of step 204, the mobile device 104 isequipped with a global positioning system (GPS) module and uses a GPSlocation of the mobile device 104 to determine the source floor. Forexample, based on the elevation of the mobile device 104, the mobiledevice 104 and/or building device 102 may predict a position of themobile device 104 within the building to determine the source floor.Similarly, the mobile device 104 may detect an altitude and/or apressure of the atmosphere. The GPS location, altitude, and/or pressuremay be utilized to determine the vertical position of the mobile device104 relative to the ground. Based on this determination, the sourcefloor may be predicted.

In at least one other embodiment, the mobile device 104 queries theuser's calendar to predict the location of the user. For example, if theuser's calendar indicates that the user has a meeting on the twentiethfloor at noon, the mobile device 104 can predict that after noon theuser will be located on the twentieth floor. In another example, at 8:00AM the mobile device 104 may predict that the user is arriving at thebuilding and the first floor will be the source floor. By accessing theuser's calendar, the mobile device 104 can predict a position of theuser within the building throughout the entire day.

In at least one other embodiment, the mobile device 104 may assume thatthe user's most recent destination floor is the current source floor.Alternatively, the mobile device 104 may analyze a history of sourcefloors to determine the user's source floor.

At step 206, the mobile device 104 is queried to suggest the destinationfloor of the user. For example, the mobile device 104 may query theuser's third party calendar to suggest the user's next destinationfloor. For example, if the user's calendar indicates that the user has ameeting on the twentieth floor at noon, the mobile device 104 cansuggest to the user that prior to noon the destination floor will be thetwentieth floor. In another example, at 5:00 PM the mobile device 104may suggest to the user that the user is leaving the building and thefirst floor will be the destination floor. Alternatively, the mobiledevice 104 may analyze a history of destination floors to determine theuser's destination floor.

At step 208, the mobile device 104 displays a list 108 of potentialsource floors and destination floors. The list 108 of source floors anddestination floors includes a subset of the total floors of thebuilding. The subset is determined by the most likely floors that theuser will be traveling from and traveling to. At step 210, the userconfirms, using the mobile device 104, the source floor and thedestination floor. At any time the user can override the system andmanually input a source floor or destination floor. The mobile device104 communicates the source floor and destination floor to the buildingdevice 102 so that the building device 102 dispatches the elevator 110to the source floor and places a call request to the elevator to takethe user to the destination floor.

At step 212, the mobile device 104 adds the source floor and thedestination floor to a history of the user's elevator travel. Thehistory includes source floor data and destination floor data that maybe later utilized to determine future source floors and destinationfloors. For example, the data may include a history of the user leavingthe twentieth floor each day at noon and traveling to the first floor.Artificial intelligence algorithms may utilize the source floor data andthe destination floors data to predict patterns of usage that may varybased on weekday, weekend, time of day, or seasonal patterns. At step214, the mobile device updates predictor metrics so that the patternsmay be utilized to predict the source floor and the destination floor inthe future.

It will therefore be appreciated that disclosed embodiments enable themobile device to predict trends in the utilization for an overallbuilding population. By predicting these trends, source floors anddestination floors can be automatically determined, thereby reducing thetime associated with waiting for elevators.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly certain embodiments have been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically dispatching anelevator based on a user's location, the method comprising the steps of:querying a device to determine a user's source floor; confirming theuser's source floor; querying the device to suggest the user'sdestination floor based on a history of destination floors traveled toby the user; and confirming the user's destination floor.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein confirming the user's source floor further comprisesselecting a source floor from a subset of total floors.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein confirming the user's destination floor furthercomprises selecting a destination floor from a subset of total floors.4. The method of claim 1, wherein querying a device to determine theuser's source floor further comprises querying a building device.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein querying a device to determine the user'ssource floor further comprises querying a mobile device of the user. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein querying a mobile device of the userfurther comprises querying a calendar on the mobile device.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, wherein querying a mobile device of the user furthercomprises determining an altitude with the mobile device.
 8. The methodof claim 5, wherein querying a mobile device of the user furthercomprises determining a pressure with the mobile device.
 9. The methodof claim 5, wherein querying a mobile device of the user furthercomprises querying the mobile device to determine the most recentdestination floor.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein querying thedevice to suggest the user's destination floor further comprisesquerying a mobile device of the user.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein querying a mobile device of the user further comprises queryinga calendar on the mobile device.
 12. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising storing a history of source floors and destination floors inthe mobile device of the user.
 13. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising enabling to user to manually enter at least one of the sourcefloor or the destination floor.
 14. A method for automaticallydispatching an elevator based on a user's location, the methodcomprising the steps of: querying a user's mobile device for sourcefloor data and destination floor data; determining the source floor ofthe user based on the source floor data; confirming the source floor;suggesting a destination floor of the user based on destination floordata; confirming the destination floor; and updating the source floordata and the destination floor data based on a source floor and adestination floor selected by the user.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein: confirming the source floor further comprises selecting asource floor from a subset of total floors; and confirming thedestination floor further comprises selecting a destination floor from asubset of total floors.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein determininga source floor further comprises querying a building device.
 17. Themethod of claim 14, wherein determining a source floor further comprisesquerying a calendar on the mobile device.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein determining a source floor further comprises determining analtitude with the mobile device.
 19. The method of claim 14, whereindetermining a source floor further comprises determining a pressure withthe mobile device.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein determining asource floor further comprises determining the most recent destinationfloor.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein suggesting a destinationfloor further comprises querying a calendar on the mobile device. 22.The method of claim 14 further comprising enabling to user to manuallyenter at least one of the source floor or the destination floor.